Most of the coaching staff will likely be dismissed today after individual meetings with Saban, who is prepared to bring in several of his assistants from Louisiana State.

Two sources said Saban is preparing to offer the offensive coordinator position to Joe Pendry, now the interior offensive line coach of the Houston Texans.

Saban is expected to soon ask the Texans for permission to interview Pendry, who has stints as an NFL offensive coordinator with Buffalo (1998 to 2000), Carolina (1995 to 1997) and Kansas City (1989 to 1992).

Chris Foerster, who had his first season as an offensive coordinator with the Dolphins in 2004, is unlikely to be retained.

Asked if his offensive coordinator will have NFL experience, Saban said, "Absolutely."

"One of the most important things we have to do here for our offense and the development of our offensive players is to get an excellent staff," said Saban, who was set to hire Pendry at LSU in 2003 before the Texans opportunity arose.

"Someone with NFL experience, if we can find someone with that availability that fits here, would certainly be a high priority in what we try to accomplish here in the hiring process.

"All those things to me are going to be done without public knowledge, I hope, until we can get ready to pull the pin on which direction that we are actually going to go in."

"There are [three] things to football operations -- how you bring the players to the team, which is either pro or college personnel, how you coach the players and how you develop them.

"I want to put together a good team of people and work with the people that are here to make the best possible decisions we can to bring this franchise forward in a positive way. What else is there to define?"

Saban espoused a similar philosophy when asked whether it bothers him that some fans are classifying him as a savior for a franchise that finished 4-12 and hasn't reached an AFC Championship Game since the 1992 season.

"I'm not here to predict championships," said Saban, who won a share of the 2003 national title at LSU.

"I'm here to formulate a process that helps people be successful. If we can do that, we are going to put ourselves in a position to win a championship sometime in the future."